Wakefield Water

A 26-year old construction plan is threatening the future of the Wakefield Spring in Gatineau, Quebec. The Council of Canadians has joined the fight to put the brakes on the project.

SOS Wakefield, formed by a group of local residents, is challenging plans to expand Highway A-5, a project that will carve away a mountain top, flatten a few thousand trees before paving a pair of massive “traffic circles” across the recharge zone of the spring itself. Although this plan was devised in 1986, the Quebec government has decided that there is no need to re-examine its environmental impact.

Mark Calzavara, Ontario-Quebec Regional Organizer for the Council of Canadians, was there as representatives of Ecojustice, The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and SOS Wakefield held a press conference to call for a comprehensive environmental assessment and a full public consultation on the design options for the highway extension and entrances.